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Ladybug Eating an Aphid. Farmers Love Ladybugs
Because They Save Gardens By Eating Pest Insects.

So what do ladybugs eat? Most ladybugs are predators. They eat other insects, most of which are considered pests to humans who like to grow plants for food or beauty. They are often called a 'gardener's best friend'.

The most common insects that ladybugs eat are aphids, which are serious pest of plants. That's why ladybugs can be the gardener's best friend. They will control the pest insects in the garden without the gardener having to use chemical pesticides. Even larval ladybugs eat aphids. They also eat other insects that have soft bodies, like mites, white flies, and scale insects - all of which are pests of plants.

These Aphids are a serious plant pest.
Ladybugs mainly eat aphids,
so farmers and gardeners love ladybugs!
Photo by Jacopo Werther

However, the question of what do ladybugs eat is much more complex than this. There are exceptions to most every rule, for example sub family Epilachninae can actually be considered vegetarian ladybugs. Some of them eat fungus, like mushrooms. There are some that like to dine on mildew. Still others prefer eating leaves and can even become pests of some plants.

This Ladybug Larvae is Eating an Aphid

Still, most ladybugs are not pests. In fact, due to what they eat, most of them can almost be thought of as exterminators. After all, the majority of ladybugs subscribe to a diet that allows them to eat other pests. Hence as a group they are considered predators. At the very least, the fact that they can effectively keep a garden - and all the plants in it - free of aphids is certainly beneficial. It's great that what a ladybug eats helps humans with the food that humans eat.

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Have You Wondered: What Do Ladybugs Eat?

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Ladybug Eating an Aphid. Farmers Love Ladybugs Because They Save Gardens By Eating Pest Insects. So what do ladybugs eat? Most ladybugs are predators. They eat other insects, most of which are considered pests to humans who like to grow plants for food or beauty. They are often called a 'gardener's best friend'.

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Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home....... ' - I bet everyone knows this rhyme about ladybirds - contrary to the words 'fly away', these tiny insects are more likely to be wanted in gardens and by farmers on the farms as they are a useful little bug, as they keep gardens and agricultural crops free from greenfly and other garden pests. They are generally considered useful insects as many species feed on aphids or scale insects, which are pests in gardens, agricultural fields, orchards and similar places.

Ladybirds (British English, Australian English, South African English), ladybugs (North American English) or lady beetles (preferred by some scientists) belong to the family Coccinellidae. The family name comes from its type genus, Coccinella. Coccinellids are found worldwide, with over 5,000 species described, more than 450 native to North America alone. Ladybirds are small insects, ranging from 1 millimetre to 10 millimetres (0.04 to 0.4 inches) and are commonly yellow, orange or scarlet with small black spots on their wing covers, with black legs, head and antennae.

There are over 100 species of ladybirds in europe, of which 40 species are resident in the British Isles. The most common ladybirds are the two-spot ladybird (Adalia bipunctata) and the larger seven-spot ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata). The number of spots on a ladybird determines what kind of ladybird it is. The two-spot ladybird has very similar habits to the seven-spot ladybird. Two-spot ladybirds are 4 - 6 millimetres in length. Seven-spot ladybirds are 5 - 8 millimetres in length.

Two-spot Ladybird Seven-spot Ladybird

Two-spot ladybirds have a red elytra (wing cases), each with a single black spot. The thorax is black with two large white markings at the side and the head is black. The colouration and patterning of these beetles can be quite variable.

Seven-spot ladybirds have three and a half spots on each of their two elytra (wing cases). The thorax is black with two white marks at the side, and the head is small and black. Larvae have lumpy grey-blue skin with yellow spots at the sides of their abdomens.

The largest native species living on the British Isles is the 'Eyed Ladybird'.

The black spots on its wings have a subtle yellow surrounding which gives the appearance of an eye, hence the name 'Eyed Ladybird'.

The Eyed-ladybug

Most ladybirds eat aphids (greenfly), mealy bugs, coccids (scale insects) and whitefly, and of course other garden pests that damage plants and crops. Ladybird larvae can eat up to 25 aphids a day and an adult ladybird can eat over 50 aphids a day.

Some species of ladybird are herbivorous and feed only on mildews and microscopic plant fungi which is helpful because it can reduce the onset of certain fungal diseases in plants.

Such ladybirds are the yellow and black, 22 spotted ladybird pictured right:

The reason that ladybirds are so colourful is that they use their colouration to warn predators like insectivorous birds that they will not taste so good if they are eaten. When ladybirds are disturbed or handled, they deposit a yellow or amber-coloured fluid which comes from their leg joints and other parts of their bodies. This fluid has a bitter taste. It also leaves a yellow stain on your skin which can smell horrid. So really, although they are relatively harmless, it is best not to handle them.

Adult ladybirds hibernate all winter. They snuggle up in dense vegetation, under logs and sometimes become residents of your home, sleeping in door frames, folds in curtains, in sheds and outhouses. If you do find one nesting in your home, spare a thought for the good work they do around your garden and coax it gently into an aired jar and put it in your shed or some other sheltered place to finish its sleep through the winter time.

Some ladybirds become gregarious during the winter and snuggle together in several hundreds.

It is unsure why they do this, probably to keep each other warm, however, they provide a colourful display if you find them.

Ladybird Conservation Status

Both the two-spot ladybird and the seven-spot ladybird are not listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List 2000.

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Ladybirds (Ladybugs) - Key Facts, Information & Habitat

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'Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home.......' - I bet everyone knows this rhyme about ladybirds - contrary to the words 'fly away', these tiny insects are more likely to be wanted in gardens and by farmers on the farms as they are a useful little bug, as they keep gardens and agricultural crops free from greenfly and other garden pests.

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ladybugs have spots.

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ladybugs are red.

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Ladybug (family Coccinellidae), also called ladybird beetle, any of approximately 5,000 widely distributed species of beetles (insect order Coleoptera) whose name originated in the Middle Ages, when the beetle was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and called "beetle of Our Lady."

Ladybird beetles are hemispheric in shape and usually 8 to 10 mm (0.3 to 0.4 inch) long. They have short legs and are usually brightly coloured with black, yellow, or reddish markings. The colour of the wing covers and number of spots vary among species. The pattern of the nine-spotted ladybird beetle ( Coccinella novemnotata), which has four black spots ... (100 of 411 words)

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Ladybug (family Coccinellidae), also called ladybird beetle, any of approximately 5,000 widely distributed species of beetles (insect order Coleoptera) whose name originated in the Middle Ages, when the beetle was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and called "beetle of Our Lady." Ladybird beetles are hemispheric in shape and usually 8 to 10 mm (0.3 to 0.4 inch) long.